Pope Francis Sidelines Award-Winning Bishop And Human Rights Hero

Pope Francis’ nuncio in Brazil has asked that Bishop emeritus José Luis Azcona Hermoso should leave the diocese of Marajó where he once presided.

In a Dec. 9 social media post, the diocese noted, “We did not receive any notification from the nunciature of the motivations for this request or even details. The nuncio's request was only confirmed to us by Bishop José himself.”

Marajó is an island at the mouth of the Pará River in northeastern Brazil on the Atlantic Ocean. The diocese covers several towns on the island and is part of the wider archdiocese of Belém do Pará.

Spanish native Azcona (83) was bishop of Marajó from 1987 to 2016. He was appointed during the papacy of St. John Paul II. As a bishop emeritus, he participated in the Amazon Synod called by Pope Francis in 2019 in Rome. He was one of the very few prelates who criticized requests for the ordination of married men to the priesthood, and the establishment of an Amazonian rite of the Church incorporating indigenous customs.

Azcona denounced what he called the “absence of Christ Crucified” in the Instrumentum Laboris , the synod's working document. He also warned that there was no mention of sin among the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. He defended priestly celibacy of the Latin rite and also denounced the scandal of using images of the pagan Pachamama at events linked to the synod. 
Azcona denounced cases of pedophilia and sexual exploitation of children by politicians and prominent citizens, thus prompting the establishment of a law enforcement unit addressing sexual trafficking in 2019.  text, drawing attention to the absence of the central element of the evangelizing proclamation in the document. 

Dom Azcona also warned about the lack of mention of sin in the document in the working document, and defended priestly celibacy, in addition to warning about the scandal and idolatry caused by the use of images of Pachamama in events at the Amazon synod.

According to local newspaper, Azcon must leave Marajó by January, when the new bishop, José Ionilton Lisboa de Oliveira, appointed by Pope Francis at the beginning of November, takes office.

Bishop Azcona was awarded the 2021 Jaime Brunet International Human Rights Prize by the Public University of Navarre. It noted "his tireless fight to promote and defend human rights in Brazil," and his "firm attitude towards sexual exploitation and trafficking of minors and women in this country since 1985." He received numerous death threats from local criminal organizations.